Ruby Myrtle Jacobs, 97, of Rantoul, passed away at 1:45 a.m. on Friday, August 23, 2019, at Country Health Care & Rehab, Gifford, Illinois.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 4, 2019, at Baier Family Funeral Services, 406 E. Pells Street, Paxton, Illinois with Pastor Maxine Rixman officiating. Burial will follow in Eden Park Cemetery, Rantoul.

Visitation will be one hour before the service, from 10:00-11:00 a.m., at the funeral home on Wednesday.

Ruby was born on February 24, 1922 in Brown County, Indiana, the daughter of Orville L. and Jessie N. (Poling) McGuire. She married Walter Jacobs on August 8, 1942 in Biloxi, Mississippi. He preceded her in death on July 21, 2007.

She is survived by a son and daughter-in-law, Jim and Janet Sue Jacobs of Playa Zancudo, Costa Rica; a grandson, Roger Damon of Seattle, Washington; a granddaughter, Angela Fitton Jonas of Vail, Colorado; three great granddaughters; a sister, Mary McGuire Linthicum of Ft. Myers, Florida; her best friend, Virginia Cozad and numerous nieces & nephews.

Ruby was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, one brother, Charles M. McGuire, and three sisters, Helen A. McGuire Johnson, Betty McGuire Shumate and Frances E. McGuire Rodgers.

She graduated from Armstrong High School. Ruby worked civil service at Chanute Air Force Base until 1941 when the love of her life and future husband, "Wally", and his friends (Carl Cozad and Martin Residori) were transferred to Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, MS. Ruby and her girlfriends followed their men and moved into an apartment together in Biloxi. The couples all eventually married and remained life-long friends. While her husband was serving in the Army Air Corps, Ruby returned to Illinois and stayed with her family on the farm until Wally was discharged in 1945.

Ruby worked for the Boy Scouts of America. She was a member of the Bethany Park Christian Church in Rantoul as well as the church's women's group. She loved to dance, and she especially adored the family dogs, Benji, Tasha, Bailey, Tica, Kolbi and Paddy. Ruby was incredibly family-focused, and nothing meant more to her than being a devoted daughter, a loving wife, a mother, a sister, a mother-in-law, a grandmother and an aunt.

Memorials may be made to The Arc of Iroquois County or University of Illinois Small Animal Clinic. Condolences may be offered at www.baierfuneralservices.com .